For a variety of reasons the sale of ornamental plants, such as perennials and woody plants, from mass merchandisers' large retail stores is on the increase. In response to this increased demand, retailers are motivated to obtain from growers and display at their stores large volumes of high quality plants in an efficient manner. Ornamental plant growers and suppliers are thus under competitive pressures to provide high quality plant materials quickly and economically. As a result, plant inventory, distribution and display systems that provide increased efficiency and plant quality benefit both retailers and ornamental plant growers and suppliers greatly.
A number of rail systems for facilitating greenhouse operations are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,758 to Faircloth et al. shows a hortaculture apparatus wherein pallets supporting potted plants are placed one each on carts. Each cart features a pair of parallel roller tracks upon which a pair of runners on the bottom of each pallet rest. A set of racks are positioned throughout a greenhouse and feature parallel roller tracks that may be aligned with the roller tracks of the carts so that the pallets may be rolled from the carts onto the racks and vice versa. As a result, plants may be potted and loaded onto one of the pallets as supported by one of the carts. The cart may then be transported to the greenhouse where the pallet may be transferred onto a rack so that the plants may continue to grow in the greenhouse. When the plants are ready for distribution, the pallet may be transferred from the rack onto the cart and the cart transported to a delivery truck loading area where the pallet may be unloaded.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,651 to Drury discloses an apparatus and method for transporting growing plants. With the apparatus of the '651 patent, plants are supported, positioned and transported in a hydroponic growing system (the growing of plants in nutrient solutions) by spaced troughs riding on wheeled rails. The arrangement allows precise spacing to be maintained between the growing plants and allows the plants to be positioned at the appropriate location in the greenhouse to control the growing environment, both of which are important in hydroponic growth systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,847 to Davis et al. shows a apparatus for producing plants that is particularly well suited for hydroponic applications. The apparatus of the '847 patent features a rail system upon which wheeled carts transport trays of plants automatically through a number of growth chambers. Each growth chamber features temperature, humidity and lighting conditions that are appropriate for a given stage of plant development.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,967 to Postma discloses plant trays featuring rollers fixed thereunder for travel upon parallel spaced beams. A transporter featuring an electric motor and drive wheels that engage one of the beams allows the trays to be pushed or pulled so that movement through a greenhouse is obtained.
The heretofore known rail systems thus facilitate plant transport within greenhouses or nurseries. None of the rail systems, however, address plant distribution operations such as loading, transporting and displaying the plants. In other words, none of the known rail systems have been integrated with a distribution and display system that provides for the efficient distribution of high quality plants to mass merchandisers. There is clearly a need for such a system in the marketplace.
In the ornamental plant industry, potted plants may be loaded at the greenhouse onto trucks in a variety of ways. For example, the plants may be loaded by individual pots or collectively on rolling shelving units or racks. Also, the plants may be loaded onto rolling racks or the trucks directly via trays contoured to prevent the plant pots from shifting. These trays are known in the art as "inserts" or "spacer trays." The plants are unloaded from the trucks at retail stores in a similar manner.
Loading and unloading plants individually to and from a truck is inefficient from a labor and time perspective. In addition, such operations are typically performed by hurried persons who are unskilled in the correct handling of plants. As a result, the plants are often damaged or spoiled when they arrive to the retailer.
Existing rolling rack and insert arrangements present a number of disadvantages as well. It is undesirable for retailers to display plants on the floors of their stores in that the plants may be kicked or trampled. It is also undesirable for retailers to display plants on the asphalt of outdoor store areas. If the asphalt has been exposed to sunlight for a prolonged period of time, it will be very hot which is destructive to the roots of a potted plant placed thereon. As a result, it is advantageous for retailers to display plants on shelves. While retailers may display plants on existing shelving units, of the type that are either roll off of a truck or fixed at a store, such racks are typically not designed with optimal convenience, plant health or access in mind.
An example of an existing plant shelf is the McStack Shelf from The McStack Company of Marietta, Ga. This shelving system features individual shelves or tiers, the spacing between which may be adjusted in four-inch increments. Each tier may remain level or may be slanted downwards in a retailer's store for plant presentation, maintenance and access purposes. While the McStack Shelf offers the advantages of shelves that tilt, they may not be configured in a tilted position during transport as they do not feature inserts that prevent the plants from tipping. As a result, the McStack Shelf is transported with its loaded tiers in a level position. A retailer thus must tilt the loaded shelves after they arrive at the store. This additional step increases both inconvenience and the chance that the plants may be damaged. The inserts of the McStack Shelf also do not prevent plants that are initially positioned at the back of the shelf from sliding forward when plants from the front of the shelf are removed by customers. This may be of particular concern when the plants displayed are of the larger one-gallon variety.
As another example of existing plant shelving systems, U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,931 to McCorkle Jr. discloses trays for the transport and display of plants. The trays are stackable and may be loaded and unloaded from a transport truck by a machine such as a forklift. In the nursery or greenhouse, the trays are transported by wagons that are pulled by tractors or the like.
The trays feature sidewalls that may be configured in either vertical or horizontal positions. This allows the sidewalls of a tray loaded with plants to be configured in the vertical position during transport. When the loaded tray reaches its final destination, and the plants are to be displayed for sale, the sidewalls may be pivoted to the horizontal position so that they extend outward from the bottom surface of the tray. This allows the plants to be spread out for ease of viewing and access by customers.
While the trays of the '931 patent have proven effective, they suffer from a number of disadvantages. Their use requires the greenhouse operator to purchase additional machinery such as forklifts and tractors. Similarly, retailers are required to purchase forklifts to unload the trays. Such machinery, in addition to a high initial purchase cost, carries with it additional maintenance and operation costs.
In addition, while the trays of the '931 patent offer sidewalls that, when oriented in their vertical positions, prevent plants from tipping off of the trays, there is little or no protection against plants tipping on the trays themselves. This is a particular problem when trays are transported in a less than completely full condition. In addition to being dependent on the number of plants transported, this situation may occur when the pots of the plants being transported are individually sized in such as way that the tray area is not completely occupied.
Known inventory, distribution and display systems also lack any sort of automated inventory tracking system. In other words, they do not present a system whereby information pertaining to the delivery racks or plant inventory may be collected and recorded. Such a system would allow a grower to monitor plant delivery times as well as the location of delivery racks owned by the grower. In addition, such a system would help facilitate order picking, loading, accounting and shipping paperwork.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient and integrated plant inventory, distribution and display system that overcomes the shortcomings of prior art systems.